[Thaxter Clavemarlton]

That “solder the connector back on” idea sounds like a good one.

;o)

[Thaxter Clavemarlton]

What kind of mics are you using?
What kind of image are you shooting?
Do you need more than 2 channels of discrete audio?
Do you need TC between the camera and the recorder?

[Thaxter Clavemarlton]

[John B] “Will I experience sync drift over time?”

Only if the 16mm is not locked to a solid sync.
The MiniDisc should not drift at all during its 80 minute length.

I have used MiniDisc for sync-sound on DV projects and its flat-out accurate.

But the 16mm camera, being mechanical, might be the weaker link in this chain.

I’ll bet it will work as well or better than about any other dual-system sound… except, of course, for an actual “linked and TC-synced” audio device.

[Thaxter Clavemarlton]

Open the settings on the Plasma monitor and set it to “Letterbox” mode.
(Or find a mode that will “zoom-in” on your footage so that the sides of your image reach the sides of the monitor, and the top and bottom of your footage is cropped off.)

If you don’t like how the screen generally “crops” your footage,
you’ll need to go back and re-edit (reposition) your clips vertically (sometimes one-by-one) so that the center of the 16×9 has the best framing.

[Thaxter Clavemarlton]

[iMan] “why should Canon camcorders be any different?”

You’d have to ask Canon… because they ARE different… and not in a good way.

But, you should definitely NOT be using “Capture Now” if you are having any audio sync issues.

To cut down on these sync problems, break your captures into sections no longer than about 10 minutes each.

You can then “reconstruct” the full tape’s recording (or any longer takes) quickly if you need to.
Mark (and log) your first clip to End (Out-point) about 10 minutes or less from its In-point.
Continue to mark (and log) your clips this way throughout the rest of the tape.
Just make sure the In-points of the subsequent clips are EXACTLY ONE FRAME LATER than the Out-points of the previous clips.

You can do all this while actually scanning the tape(s) or just by inputting arbitrary TC numbers, logging them… then use Batch Capture to bring in all of your clips.

Its very easy to then “reconstruct” the shorter clips back to any “continuous” length you want on the timeline by just “clicking” them on in order.
EVEN FASTER… select ALL successive clips at once in the browser (with the browser column-order set to “Media Start” highlight all clips) and drop them, all at once, on the timeline… they’ll all pop up in continuous order.

[Thaxter Clavemarlton]

There is a function in FCP that is often overlooked… and it CAN help with many problems.

You should “Mixdown” the Audio for playback before you dub out of FCP, or during the edit, if you have audio/video stuttering, drop-outs or freezes.

NOTE: Mixdown has even been demonstrated to help with slipping, skipping problems (or “missing” audio clips) for files being EXPORTED as QT (or similar) files out of FCP.

First, SELECT ALL of your audio tracks (highlight them) on the timeline, then:

Sequence Menu > Render Only > Mixdown.

You should see a dialog box telling you its rendering.

It might seem to make little sense that “Mixing down” even simple audio tracks will “fix” complex video “freezes” or random audio dropouts to tape or export, but it CAN.

NOTE: It does not matter of you only have one audio track, if there are random freezes during output, you should try the Mixdown.

[Thaxter Clavemarlton]

What KIND of key?
Did you try adjusting the “crop” (and edge feather) in the Motion tab?

[Thaxter Clavemarlton]

Sorry, but with most PPt “converted-to-video” presentations you will not get what you want (crisp graphics OR the original transitions).

PPt is designed for viewing on COMPUTER screens (which usually means the creator of the PPt show FILLED every frame, edge-to-edge, with copious amounts of mice-type and/or complex graphs and other images.)

VIDEO presentations require (on average) lower-resolution, larger (less complex) text and graphics AND a blank “safe-area” around the entire frame (if viewed on a TV or monitor).

Many times, if the production’s QUALITY and readability is important, video producers go back to the source materials and actually “RECREATE” the PPt slides (and build similar effects) in a form more suitable to a VIDEO presentation.

Under most PPt situations, especially if the original PPt creator did NOT design for “video use”, there are few satisfactory short-cuts.

[Thaxter Clavemarlton]

First thing, are you sure you have your DECK/CAMCORDER set up (and monitoring) so you can HEAR both audio channels when it plays?

Next, under any circumstances with audio problems, you should perform and “Audio Mixdown” before recording out of FCP.

NOTE: Mixdown has even been demonstrated to help with slipping, skipping problems (or “missing” audio clips) for files being EXPORTED as QT (or similar) files out of FCP.

First, SELECT ALL of your audio tracks (highlight them) on the timeline, then:

Sequence Menu > Render Only > Mixdown.

You should see a dialog box telling you its rendering.

It might seem to make little sense that “Mixing down” even simple audio tracks will “fix” complex video “freezes” or random audio dropouts to tape or export, but it CAN.

NOTE: It does not matter of you only have one audio track, if there are random freezes during output, you should try the Mixdown.

[Thaxter Clavemarlton]

[Gunner Jones] “Eject (unmount) the drive before you power down and pull the cable.”

He’s asking about a DV capture card / camcorder, not a FW HD.